Final Fantasy VII: The Fallout
by Different Kind Of Pain
Summary: Fifteen years after the orginal, a threat again reveals itself. This story is complete and based on the original game.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 **

**_Everything Comes Together_ **

She sat, with her back to the big glass windows, nodding off little by little beyond the security of a huge, wooden desk. A console in front of her, embedded in the wood-grain of the huge wrap around desk. A metallic panel that controlled the world basically and it could turn the planet on its head at any second. It had wonderfully labeled buttons that she could use to mess with the heads of the common man. She loved that power, that feeling of knowing that at any second she could press a button and a whole power grid would go down or flowing water would run dry. She could bring the entire population to its knees in the flip of a couple switches, and what could the people do? Riot? No, they would be squelched immediately by the awesome Shinra army. Her adopted father once told her Shinra was evil, and maybe so, but 15 years have passed since he tried to take Shinra down and nothing has changed. People grow old, people die ... Shinra is eternal. She learned that a long time ago and so did her father. It didn't even take 15 years, the Shinra building was gone one day and resurrected from its own ashes the next. Nothing changes, just faces.

My god how long ago it was. He was saddened, but she didn't know why, but now she does. Shinra had beaten him, no matter how hard he tried. He worked in the mines just outside of Corel for 5 years after the fall of the very building in which she now sat, trying to free the world of Mako power and offering a solution, but it didn't work. Coal was inefficient and people clamored for Mako power again. What was destroying the planet? As far as people were concerned, mining for coal was just as damaging. What the difference between sucking the life blood out of a planet and taking chunks of it? You take blood out of peoples' bodies in small amount and it always replenishes, but if you hack that same person's finger off, they lose blood anyway and the finger never comes back. No one wanted to hear about the planet's problems, they have problems of their own that are much more prevalent. The planet was an afterthought to most people and was dismissed without prejudice.

She still thought about her dad often, just maybe not often enough. She remembered him coming home one day when she was sick; cursing himself that he had to take her to the one place he didn't ever want to go again, where she was just now. Barret carried her the whole way, trying to make her smile at every pass and corner. The place was very modern looking from the outside and the inside as well. She didn't remember what the old building looked like, but was told the new one had the exact same layout. When they hit the doors, they were greeted harshly, possibly because of her father's past. Two men took Barret from her while one other ushered her into a white room. She was screaming at him that she loved him, but doubted he heard. She looked back one more time, before the door was closed as her father was down on the ground, convulsing, as a man in a suit hit him with a sparking stick. Both men wore suits, tailored perfectly for their every curve. One had red, spiky hair and the other was completely bald. She didn't really get a good look at their faces, but she now knew them as the outlaws, Reno and Rude, who seven years ago blew up three Mako reactors and disappeared. People sight them from time to time, but they're just ghosts as far as Shinra is concerned. Shinra wasted far too many resources tracking them, only to turn up nothing.

She was told the shocking was necessary to calm her father down and to not worry, but he looked to be in too much pain to be calm. There he lay on the floor in a pile, steam still rising from his body from the shock. The two men quickly scooped him up and carried him up the winding staircase of the lobby gingerly.

The room was huge, but separated into segments by a couple of dividing curtains. She heard faint screaming corning from the far corner, but was told to ignore it when she asked. A spat against the thin, flimsy curtain came next along with some crimson coloring staining the sparkling, white tile floor and filling the grooves between as it fell from the curtain due to gravity. All of a sudden the screaming silenced and she looked up slightly, but was blinded by the spot florescent lights in the ceiling. Each was about the size of a headlight, spaced about 8 inches apart on all sides. Between the curtains it felt like a jail cell or another confined area. The sheer whiteness of everything made the room sterile looking, but almost maddening at the same time. She kept staring at the little bit of blood on the floor, still dipping little by little, as if trying to keep her senses about her with the little bit of color she saw there. The room, or rather little cell, was small and only contained a chair, which was white of course and bolted to the ground. The chair had a metallic tray table attached to its side on a swivel base for easier access with a few miscellaneous things on it. The only other thing the room contained was a small metallic stool with black plastic wheels on the bottom. All at once, she didn't feel overwhelmed by the whiteness anymore.

She fell at that moment, too weak to stand from the fever that wouldn't break. She felt hot, like she was burning up and no sweat permeated her skin to cool her down. She figured that's why her father brought her here. The doctor in Corel ran out of options, and told Barret she was incurable. He was a proud and stubborn man, and wouldn't take no' for an answer. Even with Hojo gone, Shinra still had the top scientists and doctors around the globe. The doctor came over in a flash and scooped her up without a word and placed her on the chair gently. He said a few things to calm her nerves, but nothing really memorable. He injected her arm and gave her a pill following. The needle he jabbed into her arm stayed there for awhile, filled with what looked like green serum. He took his time squeezing the needle dry, but she didn't even wince. The pressure felt weird to her, but it didn't hurt like all the other needles she'd gotten in her life. When he gave her the pill, it was purple. She stared at it for a minute while the doctor went around the curtain and returned with a glass of water. She downed the pill and was informed she could go see her dad now, but only if she could walk to see him. She looked down to where the pool of blood was just minutes before and saw strings of a wet mop coming through from the other side, wiping it away, little by little.

She felt queasy, because she didn't want to fall again. She didn't know the penalty for falling and didn't want to find out. Sweat formed on her palms and head as a chill struck her for the first time in weeks. She stood up, wobbly at first, and grabbed the doctor for balance. The doctor was a meek man, but surprisingly strong. He was older and not that tall. His gray hair was pulled back into a ponytail from a slightly receding start point. He wore a lab coat and tan khakis. Under the coat, she could see the outline of a tie. He just smiled at her, a warm, sensible smile, and informed her that her fever had broken. She smiled back and let go, walking on her own and feeling stronger with each step. She walked behind the doctor, up the stairs. The building was huge and lavish and with each floor they went up, it got more and more ornate and elaborate. She didn't know how far they had gone, but it was a certain bet they had gone up a long way. She was led to a room where her father lay, passed out on a bed, face down. She tried to wake him, but then thought better, and let him sleep.

She turned her chair around and faced the city through the glass like an exhibit at the zoo, right there but behind the safety of glass. She looked up at the half crescent moon shedding its pale, faded light on an artificially illuminated city. She was taken aback by how beautiful this city could be in the right light. She loved it in the office at night. The only light that cast on the room was the light of the moon, casting eerie shadows around it. She closed her eyes and thought back again. It was a night like tonight, she was staring out the window when her father woke up, cursing Reno's name. She saw him and he saw her at that instant and she ran to him, hugging him tightly. Her cool, clammy arms wrapped around his neck and they both smiled. At that instant they knew Shinra had done it. The company he hated for controlling the world had done what no one else could do. He looked disappointed and relieved at the same time. She felt around his back and found the wound from the taser rod. It was small and circular and there were about three or four. The smell of burnt flesh still radiated from him, almost like a tire fire. Burnt rubber and burnt flesh smell remarkably similar to her nose.

The room was like a little apartment with all the amenities you'd expect. A kitchen, bathroom, table area, bed, etc. It was rather small for such a big corporation she noticed. No noticeable dividers between rooms accept the bathroom, which was through a door and was adjoined to the other room that was unoccupied at the moment. A small microwave was the only way to heat food that sat on a small counter next to the sink. The metal sink was a corner unit that had cheap counters made of what looked like wood on either side. Above the sink was a few cabinets and along the one side of the counter there was a small, college dorm beer fridge filled with food and drink. Barret cooked dinner for them in the microwave, which was good, because he'd of been lost with an oven. About when he was halfway done preparing the food, there was a knock at the door. Her father cracked the door and she heard him say something to the effect of "that's ok, I know I was acting crazy down there, I'm fine and she's fine too … Thank you for the hospitality, we'll only stay a day," and closed the door. They ate almost everything in the tiny refrigerator that night and her dad said to not wash the dishes and silverware. She guessed he was still sore about the past. So, they left them right there on the table, which was positioned parallel to the sink, and went to bed. There was only one bed in the unit and it was kind of hard and lumpy. She guessed it was a foam "egg carton" mattress. The pillows were feather and pricked her cheeks several times through the pillow case with the opposite end of the feathers. They felt like needles against her skin till she worked it out so that only the soft end of each feather would touch her. They slept where they fell basically, not even bothering to unmake the bed. She later found out the room she stayed in that night were the economy, cookie cutter rooms that were down a few floors from were she now stayed.

She spun back around in her chair and opened her eyes and smiled. She was gazing upon the glass case, 15' wide and 5' high glass case with a small black velvet pedestal in the center, which housed the greatest sword of the greatest warrior ever. Sephiroth's Masamune. She loved that sword, the shear brilliance of the man that must have wielded it was astounding to her. The moonlight was the only lighting in the room, which was cast directly on the blade like a spotlight made specifically for the sword, making it gleam. Two stairways on either side led down to the living area and further down to the corporate offices. The carpeting felt great to her bare feet, very high end. Lush and velvety textured. She got up and walked to it, stroking the case idlely as she remembered what happened next.

She had awoken next to her father and her eyes grew wide with horror. She looked down at her blood soaked hands and clothes, she started to tremble as she looked at Barret. She noticed her clothes were tattered and torn. Her once purple dress was nothing more then a red loincloth now. Puncture wounds wound around his body like a bandage, blood still spurting from some. She glanced around the room and noticed that the door was ajar and the serrated steak knife, which once lay on the table covered in food morsels, now was dyed crimson and stuck out of the wall near the door, three feet above the floor. She screamed in horror as she turned her father over gently and yelled incessantly for him to get up. Blood had leaked from his mouth, his eyes bulging. He had more stab wounds then she could count, all over his body. The walls, once a subtle peach color looked like a painting of ocean waves at sundown, right at the time the water catches that burgundy tinge from the setting sun. His body, the bed, her body, the walls; all dyed red like someone had doused the room in paint as a sick joke.

"Marlene? Are you still awake dear?" A voice rounded the stairs to her ears. She knew who it was instantly and snapped out of her dream world.

"Oh … yes hun. I'll be to bed in a second. I just was admiring the view from your office," she said, pulling her hand away from the case as Rufus rounded the corner, and smiled.

"I knew something was missing when I woke up next to a cold and empty side of the bed. I don't know what fascinates you so much about my office." He looked around quickly and looked back at her, almost concerned.

Marlene noted this and smiled, "I like the view. It's so peaceful up here at night, it's where I come to think."

"It's ok, but how bout coming back to bed? We've got a big day tomorrow." He grabbed her hand and tugged softly, trying to move her.

The first time she didn't budge, glancing back at the sword. She felt her heart drop and succumbed to his wishes on the second pull. He let go as she started walking, kissed her gently and said that she should go to bed and he'll be in after a relaxing bath. He started walking ahead of her and she stopped as she reached the top of the stairs and walked back to the case. She put her hand on the glass again gently and stared at the blade, gleaming in the moonlight. She heard the water running through the pipes above her head, which broke her concentration. She walked to the windows and opened them outward slightly, a splendid breeze shot past her face and into halls. Marlene closed her eyes and smiled, enjoying the wind wisping by her head, sounding in her ears and making her pulse quicken. All at once though, she got cold. She felt a chill run up her spine and grasped the sill of the window with both hands to support her weight as her knees gave out, she breathed hard for a split second and a smile crept across her face. She turned around and started walking after regaining her balance, but left the windows open so the breeze could creep down into the living quarters while she slept. She looked at the sword once more while passing it and called it a night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**_Everything Falls Apart_**

"I hate this miserable existence. I hate what I've become. And most of all, I hate what this world has made me; an empty shell of a man. A pathetic leach, sent here to toil in obscurity." Sephiroth mumbled to himself, as he perched himself on the open windowsill, looking out at the night sky just as Marlene had done a few moments earlier. The clouds moved over the moon, a shimmering white lining for gray clouds. He looked down at that moment and looked over the landscape of Midgar, not a speck of space in sight, just jagged buildings sticking out of the ground and dull yellow lights. This space, no doubt like every other, was once a beautiful and serene grassy place. He could almost feel the grass between his finger, serrated green blades, thick to the touch. He closed his eyes and super-imposed this image on the layout of the city in his mind. This is what he now wanted, it is what he always wanted.

He opened his eyes and saw the travesty that was once his perfect picture in his mind. He gritted his teeth and hissed, "I want to destroy this planet … cleanse it of all the unworthy, and keep it for my very own." He lifted his head slightly to the skyline and cringed, "Mother, is this what you wanted? People ignorant of there own planet dying? I will save it Mother. I will. You'll see. I'll summon meteor again…" He looked to the side, almost looking for something with vacant eyes. "No, that won't work will it?" He grinned, an evil grin for a wicked plot. "I know what I must do Mother, now I'm certain. I know… It's perfect."

He jumped down into the room backward. His feet hit the floor so lightly that only a small tap could be heard. He strode across the room carefully, with big, graceful steps. There he saw his sword in the case. He smiled like he just saw an old friend and punched through the glass case with the deft precision of a surgeon, making a fist sized hole with no sound. He grabbed the hilt of his blade, turned it sideways, and pulled in one motion, cutting it out. The blade was still as sharp as he remembered. He looked at the blade, it had been cleaned recently. He could still smell the sweet lemon scent radiating from the steel. It was an awful contrast to what he knew he was about to do: to stain a blade that had just been polished.

He descended the stairs and walked up to the bathroom door. It was a large wooden door with nothing really special about it other than it was white. It wasn't painted however, the wood was naturally white. The knob was ornate and depicted an angel on one side and a demon on the other, carved out of solid gold. He could hear Rufus on the other side, splashing around in his bath water, he seemed to be in the far right corner of the room behind the door. Sephiroth tested the door, it wasn't locked.

Sephiroth exhaled briefly and opened the door carefully. Rufus was alarmed by the intrusion and gasped as he walked through the door, then breathed a sigh of relief that kind of confused Sephiroth.

"Oh, it's you; you scared me half to death. Come in, what do you want?" Rufus sat in his bath and didn't try to hide or cover up anything; he just waved Sephiroth in, until he saw the Masamune in his hand. He looked confused as Sephiroth came around the door and started to get up. "What are you doing with that?"

"Surprised that I'm back?"

"Yea, a little …" His voice trailed off as he kept glancing at the blade and back into Sephiroth's eyes as Sephiroth came into full view and rested the Masamune against the blue tile, grinding it slightly against the marble to make an annoying grating sound. The burning hatred Rufus saw there in his eyes bore through to his soul and he knew his time in this world was short.

"I got to know one thing though Rufus. How did a slug like you survive the weapon blast 15 years ago?" Sephiroth sat on the edge of the tub, sword down at his side for the moment, listening intently for his answer. He has always wondered that from the moment he had heard Rufus was still alive 10 years ago.

"I got down under the desk and was knocked unconscious. The desk made a pocket of air as the rest of the building collapsed. I was found in the wreckage a few days later." Rufus started to back up as far as he could in the round, white ceramic tub and started muttering a silent prayer.

Sephiroth got up and started back towards the door, but just as Rufus breathed a sigh of relief, it was the last breath that he took. Sephiroth wheeled around, and in one clean motion, Rufus's head was across the room. Blood spouted out of his neck like a fountain all over the walls, and his body slumped slightly to the left. Sephiroth, without a word, grabbed his head from the floor and held it up to eye level. He smirked at the contorted face of horror that the head still held. The wall was spattered with blood and he rearranged it with his index finger. In the big blood splatter, he had wiped away the words I AM THE CHOSEN ONE' spelled out in the white of the wall. He left the bathroom with the head held like a trophy and walked into the bedroom. He dropped the head into the bed with sick smile, and then vanished into the night from whence he came.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_**Everything Happens For a Reason** _

She sat up stunned as they took the head out of her room. It was morning and the red sun dawned, meaning blood had been spilled. Marlene stared at the wall and didn't know whether to cry or feel relieved. She could finally leave this place without regrets. She wasn't sure whether she loved Rufus or pitied him more. He was always a sniveling weasel, but there were times, though few and far between, when he could be daring and romantic. She looked down at her blood stained hands and contemplated. She must have cuddled with the head without realizing it.

She walked out of the room, naked; she didn't care what anyone thought at this moment, and walked across the hallway and into the bathroom. There was the stagnant, foul smell of blood in the air masked by some lemon cleaner used to wipe down the walls and clean up the mess she had been told was in here. She wasn't told much else, nor did she ask. A few people were still vigorously cleaning the floor, and she didn't even bother to ask them to leave, nor did she close the door. _Let them enjoy the show_' she thought. She was apathetic almost to the whole situation.

She stepped into the tub where the rotting corpse of her boyfriend had been just moments before and turned the dial till a cool breeze of water struck her slender torso. It felt almost magical against her soft skin. Marlene began washing up, bending down almost every time she thought of it to give the workers a quick thrill. She smiled seductively at them, wondering what they were thinking at that particular moment. Did they think she was a whore? Did they want her? The prospects overwhelmed her. She didn't really know why she was being such a slut. Maybe for the attention, because she knew she had everything a guy drools over.

She stepped out of the tub and grabbed a blood soaked towel from the towel rack, because nobody had thought to replace it. She snickered as she dried off, realizing she was covered in blood again, then bounced back into her room, almost happily. When she arrived back across the hall, she changed into an oversized tee-shirt and some panties and noticed someone lurking in the door.

"Don't you knock? I don't like being leered at while I'm changing!"

"Yea … I can see that … Ummm…." He looked almost intimidated by her and wouldn't take a step even though she was motioning him in.

"What do you want?"

"W-well, ma'am, I'm the late President Shinra's lawyer and executor of his estate…." His voice trailed off as he realized she was packing and wasn't listening, "Might I ask where you're going?"

"I'm going away … my boyfriend is dead and he owned this place, so most likely there will be a power struggle and this company will topple. Not to mention, I'm not the most popular person here and would be out on my ass eventually"  
The lawyer pushed up his glasses and took a deep breath, "W-well, miss, that's the reason I'm here. He left it to you in the event of his death."

"Really … that's … interesting …"

A concealed smirk flashed over her face and she dashed passed the lawyer, up to the offices. She smiled as she reached the desk and sat in the comfy chair she used to sit in for hours at a time, staring at the city from the window in her fake, plastic world. But now, the world seemed all too real. She smiled at the busy people below her, wasting their time with trivial things. She felt empowered, but she didn't know exactly what to do. She looked down at her clothing and tore it off. She needed new clothes, more expensive clothes. She sat there in the chair, looking down. At least she looked good, so no one could or would complain.

Marlene the let her eyes fall upon to the case at the far end of the office, and she realized the sword was gone. She screamed at the top of her lungs and a few people came scurrying up the stairs to find her, sitting naked on the desktop, cross legged with feet daggling just above the ground.

"I want Sephiroth's sword found NOW!" She bellowed.

One man spoke up as the rest cowered, "We found it in your closet, blood stained. We were having it cleaned. It should be ready by now."

"In my closet?"  
"Yes, jammed in between some of your clothes. The inspector said it must have been a set up, because no woman could wield it, so he decided not to question you."

"Well, what are you standing there gawking at? Go get it!"

The three of them went downstairs hurriedly and as she waited she heard a voice, a faint whisper on the wind behind her.

"_You like it, don't you?"_

"What?" She tried to look behind her, but couldn't.

"_All this power I've given you of course."_

"How'd you know I was in his will?"

"_How didn't you?"_

"I don't know. I just didn't. What do you want?"

"_Easy … a fair trade. I'll let you keep all your power, but I want some of it too. I want you to do anything I ask, whenever I ask it. That's it."_

"And if I refuse?"

"_I'll slit your throat and piss on the ashes of Shinra Inc. Do we have a deal?"_

"I'd say so."

"_Good."_

With that, she could move her neck again, and she twirled around, falling off the desk to find no one there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**_Everything Points to the Truth_**

Sephiroth sat on the edge of the helipad, looking out on to the city. One step at a time' he thought to himself and soon, the world as he knew it would be nothing more than a figment of his own imagination. Nothing was real anymore in his mind, he fought for a false cause, a cause he thought in his heart was right, but that wasn't the case and he lost because of it and wondered how he'd fair this time that his cause is right.

He'd noticed several changes in Marlene as she adjusted to her new life, he noticed she would prepare herself for a meeting the night before, than throw away her note cards and show up the next day naked and clueless. Sephiroth thought it was an ingenious plot to get taken out of power, but everyone else felt Marlene had snapped, but she did own Shinra, thus could not be taken' out of power and she couldn't ask to be taken out of power because of Sephiroth's threat. So everyone said "yes" to her face and did whatever they wanted anyway. Since Marlene was unreliable, the real person running Shinra was Vincent.

After the first fall of Shinra, Vincent took over the Turks when Reno and Rude became outlaws and brought them to prominence as bounty hunters. Shinra re-enlisted the Turks help about a month ago at the behest of one of Marlene's top advisors, Cid. It was a double-cross Sephiroth found out about while rummaging through a few desks. But, Marlene is still clueless.

Sephiroth basically had the run of the place at night as long as he didn't alert anyone. It had been about three months and already Marlene had started to turn for the worse. She was becoming almost unusable and completely irrational. Sephiroth could understand sort of with the death of her father, then her boyfriend, then the most powerful company in the world just being handed to you would make you have a screw loose, or maybe she was just acting. In any event, the stage was set and he needed to set his plan in motion tonight before it was too late. On the ground, people were murmuring of a revolution to get her out of power and if Marlene caught wind of this, she might bargain to step down and still live here, and that's something Sephiroth didn't want.

---------

Marlene shot up in bed and put her cold hands across her breasts, looking at the door. She put her feet on the floor over the side of the bed and felt something grip the back of her neck. A chill ran down her spine as she listened to the calm voice.

"_I see you got a profile on me. How complete was it?"_

"Very, why? Does it intimidate you?"

"_No, because I've read it and heard it all before. … You don't want to be in power, do you?"_

"What gives you that idea?"

"_The way you act unprofessional; showing up to meeting unprepared and barely dressed, if at all, when I see you preparing yourself the night before."_

"I just don't care."

"_Well, you better start. I know you're smarter then this and I also know you aren't psychotic, although it's an ingenious alibi. Now you listen to me. I'm actually on the good side of things for once."  
_"Then why'd you kill my boyfriend and make me your pawn?"

"_Because, I needed Rufus's power, but he was too stupid and predictable, so the one shot I have, comes down to you."_

"Again, why would I help you?"

"_Not now, if you want to go away. Get Cloud here."  
_"How do I do that?"  
_"Ask Vincent to bring him, he knows where he is. … Wait a minute, it all becomes clear."_

"What?"

"_You knew he left you the company and you knew they wouldn't let you leave. I didn't think it went back that far, but you going to the shower naked and packing your bags three months ago … brilliant. You had this set up in your head back then."_

"Yeah, and every night I think I'll honor Rufus's memory by running the company right, and every night I chicken out."

"_You can do anything you want, after you get Cloud here, cause after that. It won't matter."_

"Not until you tell me why."

"_Fifteen years ago, my … mother,_ _Jenova_ _wanted me to cleanse the planet to find the Promised Land. Or so I thought. After Cloud sent me to the lifestream …"_

"So it's for revenge?"

"_No … after he sent me to the lifestream, I started to gather knowledge. All of the Cetra were_ _Jenova_ _…_ _too an extent._ _Jenova_ _was a … a genetic defect. A defect that once_ _activated_ _could cut a person off from the lifestream and die. They thought it was a plague sent by their god; a "Catastrophe from the sky, but it wasn't..._ _Cetra can do many things and are stronger, faster, and more in tune with the_ _lifestream. Many people believe that most of the Cetra died from this" plague" because they reached too high a plateau in spiritual attunement, and that that is what triggers it. They believe that_ _Jenova_ _is the planet's way of defending itself."_

"What's that got to do with Cloud?"

"_Everything. Jehova cells are cells Professor Gast manufactured by splicing parts of Ifalna's DNA, the bad parts. Sure, it enables people to become superheroes, but at what cost?"_

"I still don't understand. I've seen pictures of Jenova."

"_The pictures are of a dead ancient, nothing more. He was trying to cover up that he had an affair with Ifalna that produced me for his assistant Hojo. He knew Hojo would double-cross him eventually and he did. Killing him for his research."_

"How do you know all this?"

"_The lifestream holds the consciousness of everyone that's ever lived, if you can focus, you can pick up on what you want."_

"Ok, but that still doesn't answer me about Cloud…"

"_He's the last one with_ _Jenova's_ _cells in him; he's the last with the plague. If he procreates and they procreate, the cycle will continue until the plague is uncontrolled once again and wipes out your race."_

"So, if I can kill him …?"  
_"I'll kill him, just get him here."_

"And then you'll disappear? What about you? Don't you have the plague too?"

"_Once I kill Cloud, I'll take care of myself."_

With that, she felt the pressure disappear and plopped back onto her bed, sleeping.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

_**Everything Comes Undone** _

Cloud arrived on time, just as Vincent had promised. He felt weird being back in the building he had once been instrumental in toppling. It still had the same odor as he remembered; a stale stench of money and greed. Let's get this over with' he thought as he climbed the stairs to the offices. Once there, he was greeted by Sephiroth's blade gleaming in his eyes.

"What did you want?" Cloud asked, shielding his eyes to see who stood before him.

Just then, he felt a sharp pain hit him in the gut. He knelt now, grabbing the blade and trying to force it out, but it was in too deep. He looked up to see Marlene standing there, holding the sword. His lips mouthed why?' as a steady trickle of blood hit the floor. Cloud's attacker then wrenched up and gutted him. His insides spewed over the ground as blood drowned his lifeless body on the floor. Marlene then put the blade up to her own throat and stirred like a person coming out of a coma.

"What am I doing!" She fought Sephiroth's grip for all she was worth, and stared at what was once Cloud.

"_I'm killing two birds with one stone. When I was born,_ _Gast did something to my consciousness because he knew Hojo would use his_ _Jenova_ _cells. So, he spliced mine out and made me able to control_ _Jenova_ _cells instead. When Hojo injected me with them, they had no effect."_

"What the hell does that mean?"

"_You remember five years ago? When you were sick? They injected you with_ _Jenova_ _cells because of there amazing healing properties. Cloud has a strong will and would not be controlled so easily again, like fifteen years ago. However, you, you were just the pawn I needed._ _I'm still in the purgatory of the lifestream. But my consciousness can still leak to you because of the cells that were injected into you._ _I was never really here, it was always you. You killed Rufus, just like you killed Cloud._ _Take heart in knowing you ended the plague though. You discarded the serums_ _and destroyed the saved cellular compound in the database. ..Mother … can you hear me?_ _I win. You lost. You'll never destroy this planet. I Am The Chosen One."_

With that, he won and just as he had promised her, he slit her throat for not co-operating with the plan, just like he had planned to.


End file.
